Bess Beetles

I think that they need rotten wood to thrive,and surely to breed, but I had some that ate a piece of apple once.

I gave them away because I couldn't find any wood for them.

 
breeding them is REALLY hard... but keeping them alive is EASY
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At the insectary I volunteer at, (Natural History Museum, Los Angeles) their Bess beetles eat fruit. My Bess beetles, on the other hand, haven't touched the fruit I try to give them. Just rotting wood.

 
That's nuts at the insectary they were feeding them fruit. They eat the bacteria that grows on their frass, from just wood.

To breed them it's difficult only because you should use a huge rotten log and not disturb them. I was going to set up a breeding tank but it will be too large, besides I catch them all the time. I got over 60 of the beasts now. Did you know that they make the most sounds of any arthropod? Maybe they put fruit so the visitors would see them eating close up. Mine have been in a bin of wood pieces, I think they are the easiest beetles to keep ever.

 
They are actually kept behind the scenes, no visitor displays for them. Yeah, it's kinda weird that they give them fruit, I have never seen them eat it at all. They do have rotting wood in their tank also. I would love to breed mine, but I have a feeling it won't happen.

Beetle-Experience, thanks for your spiders!

 
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I've never seen the ones I had eat fruits. In the wild Ive always seen them inside of rotting wood and no where else.

 
They sure tear through wood like nothing I've seen. I put a log that was barely even rotten in their tank, and a week later it was like swiss cheese. Has anyone bred them successfully? Why are they so hard to breed?

 
I read that they like to make networks of tunnels in rotting logs - and that would be ideal breeding conditions. I'm thinking it could be a space issue? Someone else mentioned on another forum that they get disturbed easily, so if people handle them frequently that could be another issue.

 
I think if you got a huge log with a 3 foot circumference, with proper moisture, kept in a huge container or tank with the proper humidity, checked with a hydrometer inside. And left alone in an area undisturbed. You could even put the tank in a large sand box, that's what people do to minimize the lasers from moving while making hologram pictures without spending thousands on a vibration dampening laser table.

 
Well... I just discovered about a week ago that my two Bessies had successfully bred when I saw two L1's crawling around. I've had my adults for over two years and I keep them undisturbed, so that might be the trick.

Cheers

 
Bill Myers said:
Well... I just discovered about a week ago that my two Bessies had successfully bred when I saw two L1's crawling around. I've had my adults for over two years and I keep them undisturbed, so that might be the trick.

Cheers
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Exciting! What kind of setup do you have?

 
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